Sprint, T-Mobile finalizing merger with John Legere as chief: Report

US wireless carriers Sprint and T-Mobile could announce a merger as soon as Sunday, April 29, according to Reuters and CNBC. The merger of the nation’s third and fourth largest carriers could value Sprint at around $26 billion and see more than 127 million customers.

T-Mobile’s John Legere (File photo)

T-Mobile majority-owner Deutsche Telekom will own roughly 40 percent of the combined company, Reuters said. It will have voting control with Sprint majority-owner SoftBank.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere is said to run the combined wireless carrier, hoping to take on Verizon and AT&T in the next wave of the mobile war — 5G.

The deal is not final, and could still fall apart. We have seen Sprint and T-Mobile close to a merger in the past.

A deal, if reached, would conclude several years of negotiations between the companies. Talks most recently broke off late last year after SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son decided he didn’t want to lose control of a combined company. Deutsche Telekom will own more than 40 percent of the new company, with SoftBank’s ownership just below 30 percent.